1 September 2015

Welcome back. I trust that you had a good break during the past few weeks. Our DSE graduates (2015) did very well for themselves—the best among four years. We must do better, in all areas, than the previous generations, so that the society and human race can progress.

But some people think very differently and harm this progress, simply because others hold different opinions. I was disheartened to see religious establishments being bombed in the past weeks: different Turkish cities and Bangkok. Not that there is any good reason to harm others, but the destroying of life and religious symbols is brutal negligence to human existentialism and values different races uphold. We can disagree to others’ values, but that does not give us the right to destroy them. The Bangkok bombing took two of Hongkongers’ lives, and a dozen others were hurt. Nothing is achieved, and much is lost. The loss of the Virginia reporters is yet another example of the negligence of human values, and a distortion of justice.

All these are teaching us to be more mindful, careful, withdrawn, and untrusting. If a stranger comes near you, your first instinct would now be: to withdraw. How will relationship build beginning with such a defensive opening? Whatever happened to reaching out, sharing, and striving for a common good and a common goal? We learn to participate in the community, but these incidents shut us down. While there are too many negative reports on scams and safety issues, we should fight on and uphold our philosophy. The philosophy and principle do not change, but we can adapt our approaches when applying them. Don’t lose heart, because it is always true to you.